Who doesn’t like macarons? Not anyone we know of. New York City is home to some of the best macaron outlets in the country, where visitors get to treat their sweet tooth to a variety of these chewy and crunchy cookies, after Instagramming them of course!

Here we are going to talk about the best dessert bars and bakeries which are celebrated for their macarons in New York City.

Spot Dessert Bar

Located at 13 Street, Marks Pl. New York, Spot Dessert Bar is home of pastry whiz Pichet Ong, who brings along with him a blend of Western and Asian traditions in such creations as the Green tea crisp pastry with a bitter sweet and creamy finish. Apart from that, also dwell in flavors such as ice cream and ginger oatmeal raisin, and vanilla poached persimmon just to name a few.

Epicerie Boulud

On 1900 Broadway is Epicerie Boulud, is the premier destination for macarons, charcutiers and all kinds of dainties. Apart from the French packaged items one will also find prepared foods like sandwiches or something sweet like croissants, ice cream or the crowd favorite, chocolate macarons which offer a luscious option for food lovers.

Macaron Café

Macaron Café is one of the premier destinations to get these crunchy delights in New York City. Located at 161 West 36th Street, owner and chef Cecile Cannone offers her masterpieces such as raspberry, vanilla and pistachio along with a variety of others, and people flock from all ends of the city to taste the French delicacy in which two almond-based meringues hold a creamy center. Staying true to its roots, Macaron Café also offers what they call the Big Mac, which is basically two oversized buns which hold together a chocolate ganache patty. While it’s a big fellow, it gives you a taste of all perfect Franco American bond.

Macaron Parlour

Located at 111 St. Marks Pl. Macaron Parlour is the where you will get to taste all the creamy goodness and smoothness of the fig macaron, which is just one of owner’s Simon Tung and Christina Ha’s offerings. The duo prefer to give their own spin to the crunchy macarons instead of serving up the same traditional recipe. Here you can expect to find flavors such as, peanut butter cup and red velvet along with many other flavors in macarons that will leave your taste buds spinning.

La Maison du Macaron

La Maison du Macaron is a small and quaint café which happens to serve one of the best macarons you can feast on in New York City. Located at 32 W 23rd Street, La Maison du Macaron is well known for the punchy and sweet tart citrus macarons, which definitely earns the French café a visit for those who love their sweet treats. Here you will also find the flavor called key lime, inspired by their key lime pie, which is a graham cracker coated shell on top of a tangy custard and just the right amount of cream, making it one of those treats you will definitely not forget too soon.

Bisous Ciao

The sweetshop, Bisous Ciao at 101 Stanton Street is one of the few places where those with a sweet tooth get to taste some interesting flavors such as, pistachio, salted caramel and orange blossom. From Biscous Ciao you can either buy your favorite macarons individually or in a boxed set. The outlet also offers a special seasonal selection of these cookies which include masala chai, cranberry and pecan caramel, just to name a few.

These cafes and bakeries are considered the best when it comes to delicious macarons, and are definitely worth risking your waist line.

People have different tastes when it comes to relaxing and unwinding from the daily grind. While some are perfectly fine with sitting back and watching old Friends re-runs others go for the classier route and visit a spa. New York City is home to many spas. Keeping that in mind, the following spas can perk up your senses in the Big Apple.

Greenhouse Holistic

Located at 88 Roebling Street, Brooklyn is Greenhouse Holistic, which is one of the three yoga studio/spas in New York City. This one offers you a foot massage, and various other massage therapies that all help detoxify the body. For those who are into yoga, Greenhouse Holistic also offers a wide variety of yoga classes as well.

YeloSpa

Located on the 12th floor of a high rise at 5 E 57th Street, YeloSpa is one of the first spas in New York to introduce napping pods, which offered something new on the menu for its visitors. Today, the spa offers different massage treatments which have been designed to go according with a person’s mood. You can also try out the zero gravity chair to relax their senses and speed up relaxation. But, if you really want to relax then you just have to try out the pink and saffron-colored napping pods.

Moonflower Spa

For those who love their facials, the Moonflower Spa, located at 8 East 41st Street, between 5th and Madison Aves, is a great Japanese spa that’s filled with specially crafted massage and skincare services. From deep pore cleansing to full facial massages, if it’s a relaxing massage your crave Moonflower Spa is one of the best massage spots in town.

I-Plaza Nail & Spa

At I-Plaza you can get one of the city’s best 15-minute chair massages. The massage therapists here really know what they are doing because it looks like each one of them have magic fingers. Jokes aside, I-Plaza is a great option for those who want a deep scalp massage or a cure for their headache problem. Located at 387 Greenwich Street, this spa will definitely worth the visit.

Oasis Day Spa

While something that involves placing hot rocks on your back might sound a bit uncomfortable, it is actually an ancient remedy for soothing those aches and pains. The Oasis Day Spa at 1 Park Avenue is by far, one of the best ways to fight off those Monday blues and relax those muscles while you invigorate your senses.

Graceful Services

Located on 1095 Second Avenue, at the second floor of an office building, this spa is considered as one of the best spots for getting a relaxing massage from some of the best massage technicians in town. You can treat yourself to one of the many massage packages available at Graceful Services. Visitors can either get an hour long facial or an hour long massage.

Ohm Spa

Ohm Spa is located at 260 5th Avenue, between 28th and 29th Street in Flatiron. The spa is considered as one of the best places to get a customized massage in New York City. Some of the prime treatments that the spa provides includes, Swedish massage, hot stone massage and the Manuka honey massage which is its speciality.

With the endless list of TV shows taping in New York City, it’s hard not to attend at least one of them. Although it may seem odd to take the time out of a vacation just to do what you did at home (i.e. watch TV), nothing beats getting to see the behind-the-scenes moments that occur only when attending tapings, giving you an inside look at all the crazy behind the scenes happenings of your favorite TV shows. If you are in the mood to visit the taping of your favorite television shows while you’re in New York, the following are considered as some of the best.

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Good Morning America (ABC)

Feeling like a bit of news and gossip this morning? Then make your way to 44th Street & Broadway, Times Square, and join George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts of the ABC show Good Morning America. Their Times Square location can be found packed with fans from Monday through Friday mornings from 7am all the way up to 9AM. To get tickets, you can visit the GMA website and just click on the ‘visit GMA’ tab.

Late Night with Seth Meyers

Former head writer Seth Meyer, who took over as host of Late Night after the promotion of Jimmy Fallon, now hosts the show and has quite a following too. Visit Rockefeller Plaza at 50th Street & Sixth Avenue and be at the place where the greats of late night television like Conan and Letterman made millions laugh.

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The Today Show

The ground floor at the corner of 49th and Rockefeller Center is where you will find the studio of the Today Show, overlooking the famous Rockefeller Plaza. Each weekday you will find dozens of tourists and fans of the show waving banners in the hopes to get themselves on TV. Although, you will have to get there really early if you want to join the others in the front row. Fans usually gather from as early as 5 in the AM. Talk about persistence!

Who wants to be a Millionaire?

“Who wants to be a millionaire?” is another famous TV show that attracts a fair amount of tourists and fans of the show. Those who want to be a part of the tapings need to fill out a form on the website. The only downside is that each show taping can drag on for up to three hours, so you better make sure you schedule for the day is all cleared up before you get to 30 West, 67th Street.

The View

Winner of the Daytime Emmy Award in 2003, The View is a basically a morning chat fest that runs on ABC and features five of the most dynamic, smart and witty women on daytime TV. The program has received critical acclaim and is apparently even more interesting when you see it unfold live. Tickets for the show are usually sent to you three weeks prior to the date. But the huge demand for tickets to the show often times means people have to wait for months on end to receive their tickets in the mail. But, you should still try your luck!

Live with Kelly and Michael

Like the View, Live with Kelly and Michael also mails tickets to you around three weeks before the show’s date. The easy way to get to the studio is by going to the corner of West 67th and Columbus Ave. Remember to arrive early because the standbys are usually seated on a first come first served basis.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

This hilariously informative show tapes every Sunday at 6:15pm at the CBS Broadcast Center on 528, W. 57th Street. John Oliver was famous while working on the Daily Show alongside the legendary Jon Stewart, but he really shot to fame with this new show, which is definitely worth the visit. You can get your tickets on lastweektickets.com, where bookings need to be made at least two weeks in advance.

Saturday Night Live

And last but not least, SNL has enjoyed a cult following ever since its inception. It’s won countless awards (18 Emmys to be exact!) and has featured just about everyone from the entertainment industry. It’s broadcasted live from the famed Studio 8H at the Rockefeller Center.

When it comes to TV tapings, the Big Apple is really the epicenter of many world famous shows. So, all you have to do is take your pick of the crème de la crème of TV tapings in New York City.

Few people would deny that New York City is the center of all things fashionable in the US. We look to Los Angeles for the movies, and we look towards Miami for the latest fanny pack designs. But, the one thing you probably didn’t already know about New York City is that it also happens to be the best places for those who are looking to fill their bellies with some good food on a budget. So, without further ado, here’s a list of some of the best cheat eats in New York City. Enjoy!

This Brooklyn eatery isn’t anything fancy, it doesn’t have a menu, and there isn’t any written attribution of pedigree, but the burger and fries are said to be made from grass fed beef, which are the best kind of cow, and then perfumed with smoke from the wood grill, which gives it a funky smell that goes well with the cheese and homemade ham. Try it and take a nice 48 hour nap!

Rose’s
295 Flatbush Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11217

Kiki’s

At Kiki’s you will get to enjoy some traditional Greek cuisine. From grilled octopus with fries to whole fish and saganaki, here you will get to taste some great grandma cooking by Rita aka “Auntie” who is quite skilled at making her food simple yet delicious.

Morris Sandwich Shop is a takeout sandwich shop, the love child of Morris, the owner. They say that a sandwich can only be as good as the total sum of its parts, and Morris Sandwich Shop seems to have nailed all of those parts pretty well, because each sandwich delivers a mouth watering wallop. The star of the show here is the European Combo, which is a nice treat for your taste buds.

Morris Sandwich Shop
569 Lincoln Pl.
Brooklyn, NY 11238

Cabalito

Cabalito is a Latino eatery that serves some of the best stuffed Salvadoran masa pucks of any of the boroughs. Here you will get to enjoy some exquisite meals with a traditional touch of revueltas, mozzarella and chicharrones, all of which will be served to you piping hot and topped off with salsa that adds a zing to its taste.

Arcade Bakery is a novel eatery that’s in the most peculiar location you could visit, the lobby of a closed-off office building. This lunchtime only pizza joint offers many other dishes on the menu that go well with your taste buds. Here you will get to enjoy Roger Gural’s pear vanilla baguettes and flaky croissants, along with whiskey pecan babka and other handiworks of the master chef.

Arcade Bakery
220 Church St.
New York, NY 10013

Ending Note

As restaurant prices continue to touch the ceiling, finding a cheap but delicious meal becomes more of a priority. Using the suggestions mentioned above will get you a decent meal at a decent price in New York City.

Every year, millions of tourists are seduced by the allure of a thrilling, once in a lifetime experience of watching a musical on Broadway. One of the highlights of paying a visit to the Big Apple is going to a Broadway show. Few would deny that Broadway is the epicenter for dazzling and sometimes noisy Broadway plays. Like most things related to entertainment in New York City, Broadway shows are many. They come and go, but the following are the ones that have stuck on and become a crowd favorite. So, without further ado, here’s a list of the top musicals in New York City.

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder plays at the Walter Kerr Theatre, Midtown West. The play is known as the king of musical comedy, and for good reason. The Edwardian romp slays the audience with its gags and witty humour. The headline here is Tony award winner, Jefferson Mays, who plays a whole range of good-for-nothing snobs and worthless twits throughout the play. Directed by Darko Tresnjak, you don’t really have to be a fan of Monty Python to enjoy the level of foolery portrayed by Mays and the whole team of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.

Fun Home

Based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir, Fun Home plays at Circle in the Square, Midtown West. The musical can easily be described as a thing of beauty that grabs your attention with its irony and humor of all the characters. Directed by Sam Gold, with music by Jeanine Tesori, Fun Home is superbly staged and the actors portray complex characters impressively, making it a must watch.

Finding Neverland

Playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Midtown West, Finding Neverland is finding its way back from the rocky beginnings in Boston. The musical is based on the Johnny Depp starrer, Finding Neverland, which follows the story of playwright J.M. Barrie and his relationship with four soon-to-be motherless boys, one of whom is called Peter. While the acting is often times cartoonish and can be described as overacting, it seems to do the trick and manages to pull at your heart strings, with the peculiar staging courtesy of Kelsey Grammer and the music of Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy.

Chicago

When it comes to Broadway musicals, this one has been around for a while. Playing at the Ambassador Theater, Midtown West, Chicago has been revived by Walter Bobbie and expertly choreographed by Ann Reinking. The play tells the story of a girl named Roxie Hard who becomes a vaudeville star after killing her lover. While it gets dark and morose at times, the superb acting and great production makes Chicago a must-watch.

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is one of the top running plays in New York. Showing at the Eugene O’Neil Theatre, Midtown West, the musical has some of the most deeply penetrating lyrics you will hear at a Broadway musical that have been composed by composer Robert Lopez who also co-wrote Avenue Q. Prepare to laugh your heart out with this viciously hilarious play where you can see Latter Day Saints tap dancing while trying to repress their gay tendencies at the same time. Written by South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone, The Book of Mormon is a sweet tale of a group of Mormons with some really big skeletons in their closet. You just can’t go wrong with that story line.

The truth is that each Broadway season brings with it plays that could pretty well get a Tony award. So, it’s always best to see what’s trending in the theater before you grab yourself a ticket.